The City of Dalton’s Mayor and Council will meet in a joint meeting with the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners and leaders of Tunnel Hill, Varnell, and Cohutta on Tuesday for a mandatory mediation session to address the Service Delivery Strategy (SDS) agreement.
The meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m.
in the lower level of the Dalton Convention Center in Room A III. The convention center is at 2211 Dug Gap Battle Road in Dalton. Dalton’s mayor and council could hold a special called meeting at the conclusion of the mediation for ratification of any agreements reached in the session.
Under Georgia law, cities and counties are required to negotiate a new SDS every 10 years. The SDS determines which services will be provided by each government and also how they will be funded. The existing SDS in Whitfield County expired on Oct. 31, 2019 after the parties were unable to come to an agreement during negotiations which included a face-to-face mediation on Oct. 17, 2019. Mandatory mediation is the next step under the state’s SDS law (OCGA 36-70-25.1) to resolve a service delivery dispute between governments.
The City of Dalton petitioned for a mandatory mediation in November 2019. The honorable Ralph Van Petl, Jr. of the Lookout Valley Judicial Circuit was appointed on Nov. 8, 2019 to preside over the process. Four days later, Judge Van Pelt appointed the honorable Senior Judge Adele Grubbs to serve as mediator for the negotiations.
Georgia statute calls for a Jan. 12 deadline for the conclusion of negotiations, which is 60 days from the appointment date of a mediator.